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Sugarcane Farming's Toll on the Environment

Sugarcane is a water-intensive crop that remains in the soil all year long. As one of the world’s thirstiest crops, sugarcane has a significant impact on many environmentally sensitive regions, like the Mekong Delta and the Atlantic Forest. Historic planting of sugarcane around the world has led to significant impacts on biodiversity.

A vast global market for sugarcane derivatives keeps the industry booming. Sugar is prevalent in the modern diet and increasingly a source of biofuels and bioplastics. As prices of petroleum rise, there is a growing market for ethanol from sugarcane.

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 The bitter sweet story of sugar cane Saccharum officinarum

The dramatic story of sugar cane is a somber reminder of human greed, exploitation and slave labour. The events continue to unfold today, as sugar cane is implicated in contentious issues such as human health, addiction and fair trade.

 The sugar that saturates theAmerican diet has a barbaric history as the ‘white gold’ that fueled slavery.

Most of these stories of brutality, torture and premature death have never been told in classroom textbooks or historical museums. They have been refined and whitewashed in the mills and factories of Southern folklore: the romantic South, the Lost Cause, the popular “moonlight and magnolias” plantation tours so important to Louisiana’s agritourism today.

Articles of Interest

A Brief History of Real Sugar: The Story of Sugar Cane

Sugar cane is a tropical grass that grows 10–20 feet high. Unlike sugar beets, it’s perennial, meaning it doesn’t need to be replanted every year. When harvested, sugar cane is cut just above the root level so new sprouts will grow, ready to be harvested again in 10–12 months.

Cane Sugar: Are There Health Benefits?

Many people believe that sweeteners like honey, brown sugar, or molasses are healthier than cane sugar. But that’s not true. While some contain tiny amounts of minerals, they’re all simple carbohydrates that your body uses for energy. The fact is that your body doesn’t need any added sugars.

Could sugar cane save the planet?

Cars that run on sugar cane, fuel made from palm trees - it sounds like an oil-free future that could solve global warming. But, as a major report backs the biofuels revolution, the critics are gathering.

Evaporated Cane Juice: Sugar In Disguise?

If you're one of those people who vigilantly checks the ingredient list of the things you buy at the grocery store, you may have already seen this: Some food products now contain something called "evaporated cane juice." It can be found in yogurt, fruit juices and lemonades. So what exactly is evaporated cane juice?

Evaporated Cane Juice? Puh-leeze. Just Call It Sugar, FDA Says

The Food and Drug Administration seems intent on bringing sugar out of the shadows. Not only will food companies have to reveal, right on the package, how much sugar they've added to food; they also will have to call it by its real name.

How Sugarcane Production Harms Wild Animals

Dr. Carlos Gutierrez explores the data on sugarcane production in Brazil and why it's a threat to animals and the environment.

Maui Residents Say Sugar Cane Harvest Isn’t So Sweet

But residents in the area have complained for years about one key part of the process: the torching of cane fields. Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. is the sole remaining sugar plantation on the island, which has grown sugar since the late 1800s.

Sugarcane and its 10 benefits

I seldom know a person who hates Sugarcane and does not crave for Sugarcane juice when thirsty. Sugarcane juice with ice is a hit among Mumbaiites. On a hot sultry afternoon have a glass of sugarcane juice and see how it rejuvenates and energises you.

Sweeter Side Of Sugarcane That No One Told You About

Sugarcane is an amazing hydrating food that is loaded with water, hydrates your body and helps in eliminating kidney stones. As dehydration is the major cause of kidney stone formation, drinking sugarcane juice for longer duration can prevent kidney stones and remove smaller ones.

The Lengthy History Of Sugar

Sugar is part of all of our lives. It's been part of the human diet for millennia, and it's found in such a variety of food products that you may often not even know when you're consuming it. Its history is complex and has had serious implications for individual and public health as well as global economics.

The Nutrition of Sugarcane Juice

Sugarcane juice contains about 100 calories per 8 ounces and includes multiple antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that may support good health.

The sweet power of sugarcane

Sugarcane is a unique crop in many ways. While it is popularly associated with the crop that gives us that white gem that is sugar, most don't know that sugarcane gives us much more than just the ‘sweet’ part to so many of our foods.

What is killing sugar-cane workers across Central America?

Chronic kidney disease has killed tens of thousands of young men and is becoming more deadly. But nobody knows exactly what it is, or what to do about it.

Resources

6 Facts About Sugar Cane

There is no difference in the sugar produced from either cane or beet. Sugar cane, a giant grass, thrives in a warm, moist climate, storing sugar in its stalk. The sugar beet grows best in a temperate climate and stores its sugar in its white root. Sugar from both sources is produced by nature in the same fashion as all green plants produce sugar - as a means of storing the sun’s energy.

SugarCane.org

Global leaders are searching for clean, renewable options to provide energy and reduce petroleum use. Sugarcane has emerged as an important alternative for meeting those needs. This powerful plant is grown in more than 100 countries and holds the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), diversify energy supplies and create jobs.